Dr. Erica Warren offers a friendly and informative place where teachers, parents and therapists can find expert advice, multisensory strategies and mindful teaching materials. Find all her resources, at www.goodsensorylearning.com

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What’s the Confusion all About? Over the years, my students have come to sessions seeking help with literary devices.They have expressed confusion over the terms: literary devices, literary terms, literary elements and figurative language, and they also struggle with the many definitions. What are Literary Devices, Literary Terms, Literary Elements and Figurative Language?Literary Devices are creative writing strategies used by an author to convey his or her message(s). When used well, literary devices help readers to visualize, interpret and analyze literary texts.There are two kinds: literary techniques (which includes figurative language) and literary elements.Literary Techniques are words or phrases in texts of literature that writers use to achieve artistic or creative expression.Literary techniques also help readers to visualize, understand and appreciate literature. Literary Elements are components or pieces that make up a story or literary work. Figurative Language is the crea…

To be a true multisensory teacher, it is important to be aware of all 12 Ways of Learning. The Eclectic Teaching Approach merges the theories of cognitive styles, multiple intelligences, information processing, and multisensory learning to reveal 12 diverse and distinctive ways of processing and encoding information. Each of these learning modalities lie on a continuum and individuals have their own profiles that are based on cognitive strengths, preferences as well as exposure to each methodology. By learning about the Eclectic Teaching Approach, teachers, therapists, parents and even employers can be more mindful of their expectations as well as their lesson or training approach. Then, by evaluating preferences, instruction and assignments can be tailored for groups or individuals resulting in optimal learning.

What are the 12 Ways of Learning?
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Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher o…

I have never understood why the number-line extends horizontally from left to right. Young learners often confuse their left from right and others have trouble remembering which way to travel when trying to solve simple addition and subtraction problems. However, when viewing a vertical number-line, it makes conceptual sense that going up would equate with adding, while traveling down would result in subtraction. Furthermore, when solving multi-digit problems, we teach students to line up numbers vertically. Therefore wouldn't it be best to commence instruction with the number-line extending up-and-down?

Turning the Number-line Into a Ladder
To make the learning process even easier, I like to change the number line into a ladder that travels up into the sky. This way, when students are instructed to add, they climb up the ladder and when they subtract they descend down the ladder. What's more, when students eventually learn about integers, the number line can descend dow…

If you have been reading my blogs, you know I'm a big fan of bringing the fun factor into learning. In fact, did you know there are many games that can improve cognitive functioning? Kids love to play card and board games, and there are quite a few that exercise and strengthen the brain. Back in September I reviewed 18 games that can benefit cognition and I wanted to add a few more to the list: